History of the Blues

By Don Rittner

In the fall of 1974, entomologists Bob Dirig, John Cryan and I were sitting in Room 10 in the M&M motel in Guilderland. Our task was to find a mascot for the Pine Bush Preservation Project, an endeavor I began to help save the Pine Bush, a unique and endangered wilderness between Albany and Schenectady. I knew then that we needed to have something that the public could rally around, and that among the thousands of plants and animals that called the Pine Bush home, there had to be one that could symbolize why the area should be saved.

After going through a litany of little animals from moths, beetles, and dragonflies, we agreed on the Karner Blue Butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis). This little blue butterfly was not only endangered, being restricted to living in pine barrens-type environments such as the Pine Bush, but it also had a bit of interesting folklore. Bob and John had been studying the biology of the butterfly for over a year and had built up quite a remarkable knowledge base on this little one-inch wide work of nature.

The KB had been given its name by novelist Vladimir Nabokov, better known for works like Lolita. Before his fame as a fiction writer, he was a first class entomologist and was studying the whole family of blues during the 30's and 40's. Nabokov gave the butterfly, known as Scudder's Blue, the name “Karner” after the little railroad station in the Pine Bush by that name. This is where Nabokov disembarked in search of his specimens when they were on the wing. The Pine Bush is the type locality of the KB, and the KB is the type specimen. For scientists, it means this is the home base and the population that all future research on the butterfly has to be based on. Nabokov took to his little blue personally and even featured it in one of his novels (Pnin). In a letter to Dirig, he remembered the butterfly’s home as a "flowery and sandy little paradise."

After a talk I gave at the annual Wildlife Society meeting in 1974, a DEC biologist and department head approached me and asked what should be done to save the butterfly. I suggested making it the official endangered insect of NYS. He put into action the preparation of the papers and legislative support to make it happen. It became the first insect to be designated as officially endangered in NYS and that act helped save hundreds of acres of Pine Bush, not to mention give the butterfly a few more years of longevity.

In 1978, we nominated the butterfly as a federally threatened species, but Mayor Erastus Corning, then head of the Albany political machine, scuttled it. He felt it would have stopped all future development in the Pine Bush - our intent, of course. It would take 20 more years - and now a dwindling population of Karner Blues - to finally have it listed as endangered on the federal level. It’s probably too late for the butterfly's long-term survival.

While the KB became the rallying cry for saving the Pine Bush (some protesters even wore KB wings at anti-development hearings), the butterfly was dwindling around all its population centers, and even become extinct in Massachusetts.

When I gave tours to children's groups, there were literally thousands of KBs flying during a day and often one would land on my finger and take the entire tour with the kids, duly impressing even the most ardent bug hater. Today, if you see one KB you feel lucky.

There are around 3,000 acres of Pine Bush preserved now, but the KB is not doing well. Populations have suffered throughout its range over the years due to habitat destruction and other factors. It has not deterred folks from promoting the butterfly, however.

Ohio Artist and naturalist Gretchen Rettig, who first worked in horticulture, turned to art via oil, acrylic, and photography, including digital, and has a great rendering of an "angel" with Karner Blue wings at www.starfishsart.com/DigitalArt.html.

Wisconsin artist Barb Pelowski expresses herself through enamels and patchwork. She has produced some dazzling representations of the Karner blue in pin and pendant form. Her artwork is seen at barbpel.com/Pages/gallery/butterfly.html.

Janet and Kevin Oberembt from Indiana operate Curio Cabinet Antiques on the web and offer miniature ceramic shoe collections. They sell a beautiful Karner Blue high heel miniature for $20 at www.dealersdirect.com/Dealer/Oberembt/Antiques/rightshoe.html.

Finally, Sissy Provost, a young woman from Schenectady wants 100 butterflies tattooed on her body. Last week she took a postcard of the Karner Blue and had it tattooed on her neck for all to enjoy.

Fortunately for some, the Karner Blue blues will never be sung.